Fallen Angel
by lalstice
Summary: After spending who knows how long in the Lifestream, Sephiroth finally believes he is ready for redemption. Visited by the Goddess and a certain Ancient, he is sent back to the Planet to find his light. Rated M for future content
1. Tattered Wings

Fallen Angel 

Chapter 1- Tattered Wings

**Myah Myah. Gegh. Okay, this story is going to be EXTREMELY angsty later. No character deaths, too sentimental for that, but… lets just say its gonna make you cry. Also, this story is basically what ****Heartless**** would have been, but for some reason ****Heartless**** never loads, so I can'd add new chapters. Let's try this one.**

_What is the meaning of life?_

_What is love?_

An endless river of memory.

The final place of rest.

The blood of the Planet.

The Lifestream.

The sky, if it was a sky, looked like it was at the time in between dawn and midnight, where the land is peaceful and sleepy, with a few stars glinting high above. Below, staring up blankly was a tall man with flowing silver hair and a pale complexion. His green cat eyes stared up at the indigo abyss above him, a frosty coldness about him. Or maybe that was just a disguise, masking what he truly felt.

Lowering his gaze, the Nightmare stared at the river he was knee-deep in, hearing the soft murmurs of the dead.

"So."

His head snaps up, eyes narrowing as he takes in the sight of a girl dressed in pink, her auburn hair tied up in a bow. The girl was quite beautiful, with sparkling green eyes and a kind face. Walking slowly forward until she was but a few feet away from the man, she stopped. The voices of the Ancients were silent for a single moment, before rising up into song. A single tendril of memory twisted up into the air, joined by more until, in a flash of blinding light, the tower of shining memories disappeared, with a beautiful woman dressed in magnificent gold armor standing regally next to the girl.

For a moment, they eyed each other, two opposite forces, one light, one dark.

"Sephiroth. Do you know who I am?" asked the woman in armor. Her eyes were the blue of the sky, both serene and firm.

The man called Sephiroth crossed his arms. "No. Should I?"

"How arrogant." The woman's eyebrows drew together for a moment. "I am Minerva, the Goddess of the Lifestream."

"Goddess of the Lifestream?" Sephiroth arched an eyebrow. "And to think that I believed myself a god."

"What do you mean, Sephiroth?" said the girl sharply.

Sephiroth laughed humorlessly. "I'm surprised that an Ancient and a Goddess do not even know. Though perhaps I am at fault as well…."

Minerva's face stayed serene. "You truly are arrogant to think that I do not know of what that monster did to you. There is a reason why you have not been able to dissolve into the Lifestream, Arrogant One. Allow me to speak before you rattle off with that tongue of yours."

Sephiroth winced slightly at what the Goddess saw fit to call him. "Very well then. Shall I start with my speech first, as I do have one, or shall I listen to you?"

Something flashed in the Goddess's eyes then, though if it was approval or amusement Sephiroth did not know. Instead of answering him, the Goddess turned to the girl next to her, waiting.

"…I believe we should let him speak first, Goddess."

Minerva nodded. "Very well then. Sephiroth, tell us your story."

Sephiroth blinked, then began, "When we went to Nibelheim, I knew immediately that I should not have been there. Before, I knew that there was always a small voice in my head, but it was so soft that I could not decipher what it was telling me, and, so, I ignored it quite successfully.

"However, in Nibelheim, the voice gradually began to grow louder with each step I took nearer to the reactor. I was still able to block it from my head, but with difficulty. Even though the voice grew louder, it was still completely gibberish to my ears; I could not make heads or tails of what it was saying. However, the instant I set foot into the Nibelheim mako reactor, the voice grew clear, calling to me, urging me towards that door. Urging me to take back against the planet, and…it said it loved me, and that I was its son.

"No one…had ever said that to me. It felt…nice, and I could not resist. When Genesis barged in, he told me of how I was a monster, and…that broke something inside me. I wanted relief from the pain of always having to be a toy, always having to be something I didn't want to be. I never asked to be a toy for ShinRa to make fun with, break, then toss away. Seeking solace in my "Mother", I succumbed to her desires and lost myself. I no longer had control over my body. The only thing I remember while that thing had had control over me was hanging in a limbo, only partly conscious. After Cloud defeated me, I was shaken back to my senses, Jenova haven fled from my body.

"After it had fled, I found myself in a place of utter darkness. As I began to walk aimlessly, I encountered the Lifestream. I wandered aimlessly there, my mind blank, misery bogging me down. I continued to stagger through the memories, until you found me. And here I am."

Sephiroth fell silent, aware of two sets of eyes analyzing him, judging him. Eventually, after a long silence, the Goddess spoke.

"You did not know what to do. I understand. How Jenova took you is understandable. However, you could have resisted her, but you did not. I know that she controlled you, and I know that you were lost. However, you were also at fault. There was a part of you that relished in the burning of the village Nibelheim. You may have been asleep at the time, but you enjoyed the same sadistic pleasure as that thing in taking lives."

Sephiroth nodded, having had expected nothing else.

Minerva eyed the man approvingly. He knew he had done wrong, and was prepared to take his punishment like the man he was.

"I will send you back to the planet in search of the light you have lost. If you can change from the man who reveled in the pain of others, I will grant you peace and happiness. The road will be hard, Sephiroth. But if you can accomplish this, you will find the peace and happiness you have never known."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes as the Goddess proclaimed his punishment.

"Goddess, how can I do this alone? One man cannot exactly alter himself completely on his own. You ask the impossible of me."

Minerva chuckled, the sound like the beauty of a symphony. "Indeed, you are right. Once upon a time, man could change himself on his own, but now people are too afraid to jump into the abyss. Especially you. Yes, I will give you help. However," she warned, "you may not like it at first."

Sephiroth inclined his head. "I am prepared for it. I will change."

The brunnett smiled. "Sephiroth. Do you remember me?"

Green cat-eyes lowered. "Yes. I plead your forgiveness. I was not myself, and had no true intention of killing you. Accept my apology, or cast it away. Either way, I am sorry."

The girl laughed, a lovely tinkling sound. "Must you be so formal? I forgive you, and so does Zack."

Emerald-green eyes widened. He had not expected to be forgiven so easily.

As if reading his mind, the girl said, "True, I was not prepared to think you forgiven, but after your little speech, I could tell that you were deeply regretful, and wanted to change things. Now. Do you remember my name?"

Sephiroth blinked.

Warm green eyes glittered with suppressed humor. "No? Well that's a pity. Aeris. Aeris Gainsborogh. Remember it from now on!"

Sephiroth blinked again. He hadn't expected to be forgiven so readily, but never in his dreams did he expect for Aeris to be so friendly.

Aeris smiled again, radiating warmth. "Don't worry. Me and Zack will be visiting you occasionally, to see how you're doing. You can memorize that speech and tell it to him later."

All Sephiroth could do was just stare dumbly.

Minerva chuckled again, and said, "Well. We must be going, as I cannot stay long. I wish you luck, Sephiroth."

Aeris smiled again and said, "Good luck. And remember. You aren't alone."

Sephiroth blinked again, before his eyes softened into something like wonder. Inclining his head again, he murmured, "I thank you. And tell Zack…I am sorry. Tell him that he was my only friend, and that I am happy he has found a girl to be with that can make anyone happy."

Aeris blushed a little at that and whispered, "See, Sephiroth? You have already begun to change."

Closing their eyes, the two women dissolved into brilliant orbs of light, leaving Sephiroth alone.

Sephrioth looked around uneasily. _What now?_

Suddenly, tendrils of memory twined around him, pulling him down, but, somehow, Sephiroth felt no fear, and willingly allowed himself to be pulled down into the abyss, preparing himself for his challenge. Closing his eyes, Sephiroth felt almost…glad that he no longer had to meander around in the Lifestream, forever regretting what he had done.

A moment later, Sephiroth fell into something that felt like water, but wasn't, as he could still breathe. Allowing himself to be consumed by the darkness that felt both welcoming and forbidding, he finally let himself go.

XXX

Sunlight streamed through the remains of a rector in Nibelheim. Amid crushed metal, broken cases full of what used to be mako and abominations, and broken glass tubes lay a single man with silver hair, his face peaceful and serene, as if he was anyone else but the person who had destroyed the village nestled down at the base of the Nibel Mountain.

XXX

The previously barren, desolate mountain had experienced radical change in only three years. Now, instead of being the gloomy forbidding mountain it once was, young saplings, shrubbery, and wildflowers had begun to turn the mountain into a beautiful paradise. Young trees stood proudly around the reactor ruins, birds trilling as the day progressed slowly. Nibelheim was becoming a place to be admired for its beauty, although it still had a ways to go. All around the planet, former wastelands were becoming richer and greener every day. With ShinRa gone, there were no longer any reactors, and so the Planet was slowly replenishing itself, making the countryside beautiful once more. People now used power from the wind and sun. Amazingly, quite a few people were happy enough to help make their planet beautiful once more. Oh, people still lived in cities, and they still used gasoline, but the Planet was alive and well due to the demolishing of the mako reactors. Cloud Strife himself destroyed the Nibelheim reactor.

Now, three years after the final battle with Sephiroth, most people had forgotten about the Nightmare. His name was the stuff of legends, only used for fun and mockery. Only one person still remembered the man, and he was the very person who had stopped Meteorfall.

Cloud Strife had moved away from Tifa and Denzel to have his own quiet life in Nibelheim. He had his own country house not far from the village, though still on the outskirts. He was never one to express his feelings, and was a loner by heart, so the emptiness of the house did not bother him much. He rather liked waking up to sunlight and the trilling of songbirds and the steady drumming of woodpeckers. Cloud's daily life would usually begin with him brushing his teeth and getting dressed, then going outside to practice his sword techniques and exercise. After about three to five hours, he might visit the cemetery and pay his respects, or he would go out in the mountains and eliminate some monsters, for, even if ShinRa was gone, there were still mutants roaming the lands, though no one knew where they came from.

Sometimes, Cloud would visit the reactor, though he never knew why he kept going there. Maybe it was because he felt a pull there that connected to his past, and it was his way of reminiscing, or it was because he wanted to make sure nothing had spawned from the few puddles of mako that were sure to be somewhere inside the wreckage. Either way, he went back, and, well, he kept going back.

He had set up his own business that was similar to what he had once been: a mercenary. He would offer to eliminate some monsters that were bothering a city, or a small town, in exchange for payment. He lived comfortably, and had a type of Zen tradition where he would go to his backyard after he had destroyed a couple of monsters and just sit in the shade of a tree, watching nature. It was here, now, that found Cloud sitting in the same spot under the same tree with a mat under his feet and a blank expression.

_I haven't gone to that reactor in almost a week by now. I should go again, just to check if nothing has come up. _

In reality, Cloud was lying to himself. He had not visited the reactor in so long because he felt afraid to go there. The only reason he was even thinking about it now was that the urge to go there was stronger than ever, and Cloud didn't know if he could resist it any longer.

_I guess I could just visit one more time…_

Again, Cloud was lying to himself. Deep down, he knew that he would keep returning to that stupid reactor until he found...whatever he was looking for.

Sighing, Cloud got up from his comfortable position under the tree, heading back to the house and out through the front door, where Fenrir, his beloved motorcycle, had been left.

He had never expected to encounter something much more horrifying than your average monster.


	2. Lost Soul

Fallen Angel

Chapter 2- Lost Soul

**Okie then! Next chapter! Yes, I said angst. Yes, it will come later. No, it will not come in this chapter. **

**Rated M for blood, gore, and child abuse. Guess who!**

No man should torment a child so.

How could he do such a thing?

Monster.

The mountain was unusually quiet. Usually, there were always some birds singing, or there would be the drone of cicadas. Cloud Strife found it strange for the usually loud mountain to be uncharacteristically quiet. It was as if the mountain were holding its breath, waiting for something. The feeling sent chills down Cloud's spine. Save for the steady roar of Fenrir's engine, the mountain was as eerie as the day he, Zack, and…Sephiroth had visited the reactor. Shaking his head abruptly to rid himself of such thoughts as the day that his hometown had burned, Cloud concentrated on maneuvering Fenrir around the young saplings that had begun to pop out of the ground.

When he finally arrived at the reactor, the first thing he realized was that there was a disturbance. It wasn't the type you could see, but more of the type you could feel. It was as if there was something wrong about the place. Cloud's first instinct was to bolt, but he knew that it was his duty to investigate what had gone amiss. Narrowing his eyes, he hefted First Tsurugi and cautiously approached the ruins.

Picking his way through junk metal, broken glass, and puddles of mako, he made his way to where the center of the reactor should be, where, previously, there had been rows and rows of cases filled with monsters, and, at the top of a set of stairs, where the door to Jenova was.

Cloud stopped abruptly. The wall that blocked the room of Jenova was still standing, albeit worn and halfway melted. The door had been blasted apart completely, though the room was far enough that Cloud could not see into it. After hesitating for a second, Cloud pushed onward.

The instant Cloud had stepped through the large panes of broken glass lining the hall, he froze.

Lying in the center of where the glass tube that held Jenova had previously stood was the form of a tall man dressed in black leather with silver hair and a face Cloud would know anywhere.

_Shit. _

That was the only thing Cloud could think of. Quickly grasping the handle of First Tsurugi, he approached his enemy with wariness etched in every line of his body. Effortlessly balancing on the large red tube that hung over a pool of mako, he drew First Tsurugi and held it to Sephiroth's throat.

Still he laid still.

Drawing a shaky breath, he said harshly, "Sephiroth."

Emerald green cat-eyes snapped open, his body growing rigid when he saw Cloud. For what felt like years, the two men stared at each other, blue eyes filled with hate, anger and wariness, the emerald green filled with just wariness and…something else.

Both of their heads snapped up when an unearthly glow suddenly appeared above them. From it, a voice that sounded as flowing as water issued.

"Cloud Strife. Sephiroth. Greetings. Sephiroth, you have already met me. Cloud, I am the Goddess Minerva of the Lifestream. I came here to ask you a request."

The strange light fell silent, waiting for Cloud's approval to move on.

Cloud narrowed his eyes and said cautiously, "Yes…?"

"Would you be willing to help Sephiroth on his way to redemption?"

Cloud blanched. "Hell, no! Are you fucking kidding me? There is no way in hell that I am helping that bastard."

The light paused. "Cloud, understand please. The Sephiroth you know is not the one here. Shall I show you a memory?"

Before Cloud could protest, the light grew, until it and Cloud had disappeared, leaving Sephiroth alone with his dismal thoughts.

XXX

He knew it would happen. Of course he knew, he wasn't stupid. After all, he _was_ the one who had destroyed Cloud's hometown.

_This isn't exactly going to be the first time he's gonna look at you like that. Might as well get used to it. _He thought bitterly.

It wasn't exactly his fault. It really never had been. But still, he was a man that had been terribly cruel to everyone, not just his enemies. And, it was true. He had enjoyed it when Jenova had taken his body, forcing him to burn down Nibelheim. He was just sadistic that way.

Sighing, he sat up, waiting for the telltale flash of light that would signal that they were coming back.

XXX

"What is the meaning of this? I don't care about that crazy asshole's past!" Cloud yelled at the Goddess.

Minerva looked on, amused. "Were you not supposed to be calm and expressionless? What has signified this change?"

"Sephiroth coming back, that's what signified this!" was the angry retort.

Minerva sighed, making a gesture.

Suddenly, Cloud found that he was immobilized, unable to talk, move, or even roll his eyes.

"If you will not cooperate, I will have to resort to this. Well, Cloud?" she said, making it so that he could nod or shake his head.

Cloud glared.

Minerva arched an eyebrow, he armor glittering slightly.

Cloud glared some more.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed, "Very well then, Stubborn One." And disappeared.

In her place stood a large, transparent…_something_ that began to swirl with colors and images.

_**This is what He has experienced. All I ask is that you watch, and decide if you really truly hate him so much after. **_

The swirl of images condensed to form a laboratory.

_ShinRa?_

On the far side of the white room sat a child that was about five years old on a small bed, kicking his legs. The child had silver hair that reached to his lower back and green eyes that had not yet became the slits that Cloud knew they would come to be.

_Shit. He looks so innocent as a child. _

Young Sephiroth looked up as a door was opened and a nurse came out.

"Come." Was all she said.

Jumping off the bed, he quickly walked up to her, where she eyed him disapprovingly. "We have already told you not to kick your legs like that. Do I have to remind you yet again?"

Sephiroth looked down and said quietly, "I'm sorry. It will not happen again."

The nurse retorted sharply, "Be sure it does not! And do not look down like that, it makes you look weak."

Turning, she briskly began walking down the hallway, her high heels clacking. Sephiroth followed behind, his head up with a straight back.

She led him to a room that looked identical to all of the other many rooms in the hallway, ushering him in after opening the door. After he had walked through, she quickly shut the door, leaving him alone with a man in a white lab coat and long hair tied up in a low tail.

"Professor Hojo…" Sephiroth said politely, though Cloud could clearly see the hate in those clear green eyes. Cloud himself had a large hate for the man, and had to stop himself from hissing in disgust.

Hojo turned. "Ah, Sephiroth! Come, come."

Sephiroth stiffly walked up to where Hojo was standing, and said, "What is it?"

Hojo laughed in glee, "I want you to go into the training room. It is for…a test."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What…kind of test?"

Hojo cackled, "Never you mind, boy. Just get in there."

Sephiroth warily walked towards a door on the far right corner of the room, which led to another room into which Hojo was staring.

Cackling, Hojo pushed a button, and, suddenly, a portion of the training wall slid down, till there was an opening from which a Nibel red dragon slithered out.

Cloud's eyes widened. _That bastard Hojo. Nibel red dragons are A-class monsters! How the hell can he pit one against a child?_

Sephiroth, his eyes wide with fear, backed away from the beast, until his back thumped against the wall. Hissing and spitting, liquid fire spilling from its maw, the dragon advanced, its small emerald eyes taking in the form of a shivering child.

Even though Sephiroth was almost numb with fear, his eyes were still shrewd and calculating, the mark of a true battle strategist. Suddenly, the dragon darted forward, jaws agape, its large, thick forelegs crossing the distance of the training room in seconds. Sephiroth, trembling with fear and panting slightly, launched himself off the wall and flew right at the dragon, leaping at the very last moment, soaring above the beast in a high arc. At first, Cloud thought that Sephiroth had really made it, and that he had been able to leap far enough. A shriek from the child proved him wrong. The tail, whipping around crazily, had nicked Sephiroth on the right shoulder, tearing the skin in a deep cut that marked a bloody trail from the collarbone to the wrist. Blood splattered on the ground, Sephiroth panting visibly now, tears streaming down his face from fear and pain.

Hojo, being the insane man he was, had torn the clipboard he had been holding in half, throwing a tantrum when he saw that Sephiroth had been showing a weakness such as crying.

Snarling, the dragon twisted around, saliva dripping from yellow fangs. His right arm hanging limply at his side, Sephiroth darted forward and kicked the dragon on the leg, yelling as the scales almost made his foot break. The dragon, howling in pain as its left foreleg broke, lunged for Sephiroth, its fangs tearing another large slash that led from his left deltoid to his right hipbone. Lips set in a snarl, Sephiroth leaped yet again, bringing both hands down the beast's spiny back in a move that crushed the dragon's spine.

Rendered unable to move, the dragon collapsed, howling its fury and pain. Bare feet pounding against the hard cold floor, Sephiroth ran at the dragon and punched its face, sickening cracks resounding as almost all of the bones in Sephiroth's right hand broke.

Cloud watched, transfixed, as Sephiroth, despite his broken hand, gripped the dragon's thick neck with both hands and squeezed, screaming in pain. Grimly, the child held on until the dragon finally fell silent, flopping to the ground.

Tears streaming down his cheeks in a steady flood, Sephiroth staggered and fell, landing hard on his backside, his hands covering his head as he sat and sobbed in pain and fear.

Hojo was cackling insanely as he muttered to himself.

"Excellent!" Hojo shrieked, "I have surpassed what men could only dream of!" Still laughing and shrieking nonsensical ramblings, Hojo managed, somehow, to pick up his torn clipboard and leave the room, saying, "The crying can be reversed, for my experiment cannot be made to cry, oh no…"

Meanwhile, in the training room, a nurse had hurried in, dragging Sephiroth out and cleaning his cuts and bandaging his hand. Sephiroth had stopped crying, though his eyes were wide and he seemed unable to hear what anyone was saying. After a few tries to get Sephiroth to talk to her, the nurse gave up and left, leaving the room.

The screen, if it was a screen, suddenly changed scenes. It showed Sephiroth when he was older, maybe fifteen? He was sitting in a white room with a small desk in a corner with a lamp, a small bed, and a small wardrobe. Currently, he was sitting on the floor cross legged with a sword in his lap. The sword looked remarkably like Masamune, though it was noticeably shorter with a black lacquered sheath with a gold dragon twining around it. A set of Wutainese characters were scrawled on one of the sides, probably the signature of the maker. Sephiroth was running his pale fingers over the sheath, looking at the sword almost adoringly. His head suddenly snapped up when the door slid open with a smooth hiss, a nurse stepping into the room. Gesturing to Sephiroth, she left the room, Sephiroth following in her wake. The nurse led him through countless corridors- just _how big___was the lab? - until they finally stopped at a door that appeared to be leading into a gym. Sephiroth entered, and Cloud immediately sucked in a breath. No, it wasn't a gym. It was more like a torture chamber. Hundreds and hundreds of torture devices lined the walls- manacles, a club with spikes, a pair of nunchaku, countless whips and other nameless things.

What horrified Cloud more was the fact that Sephiroth seemed almost calm. Sure, he was sweating a bit, but, other than that, Sephiroth seemed like a cold statue. In the middle of the room lay a table, where Hojo was standing. Slowly, Sephiroth walked over, stripped himself of his shirt, and lay down. Hojo cackled, chose a whip, and said, "You know what to do, Sephiroth. This is for our benefit- it tells us how much pain you can withstand." So saying, Hojo suddenly cracked the whip across Sephiroth's stomach, leaving several bloody gashes.

Sephiroth didn't even flinch.

Next, Hojo took what looked like a hair curler and rolled it down Sephiroth's back. The thing tore off skin, leaving an irregular trail of bloody, tender under skin, which, to Cloud's horror, Hojo poked and prodded.

Sephiroth only blinked.

And so began a countless number of tortures that would have made grown men scream in agony, whereas Sephiroth just lay there, enduring it until he finally whimpered, which was about three hours later. Sephiroth's skin was raw, and he bled from a number of gashes across his chest, stomach, and back.

Cloud felt sick.

The 'screen' disappeared, leaving Minerva standing with sad eyes. "Do you see now, Cloud? Do you see what Sephiroth was put through?" Gliding closer she whispered, "Can you forgive him?"


End file.
